~ Shortcut ~
By Ola
~*~*~
A/N~ Wow, I never imagined receiving so many reviews for so few chapters! Thank you so much. You can't possibly know how much better my day is after I log on and see new reviews (well, I'm as addicted to reviews as I am addicted to fanfic *smiles sheepishly* but who isn't eh? Hey you, don't look too innocent! =) lol. I hope you guys are enjoying this as much as I enjoy writing it. Mmm, should I make you vote whether you want me to save Legolas or not? Err, maybe not (looks fearfully at all the angry readers, unhappy about the death of their favorite character…) ooopss…hey, well, this story wrote itself, I didn't have anything to do with it, I swear! =) ok, ok, for all you Legolas lovers, this is his chapter! =)
~*~*~
Part 3~ Cold
I was not happy with Aragorn's choice. I felt the bitterness of the air. It smelled of evil…and of death. Too much death to be caused by wolves killing deer or owls striking hares. The humans' footsteps fell too loudly on the snow, and the hobbits' voices rose too high into the air. I could not blame what was intrinsic to their nature, but it made the hair on the nap of my neck stand on end. It was too much noise in this too quiet valley. Valley? Whom was I kidding? This was no more a valley than I was a hobbit. I felt the cold water imperceptibly moving under our feet, although the ice was thick to hold four times our weight. All I could do was to be on my guard, listening.
And that's when I heard it. The slightest of sounds. Water lapping against the ice…from under us. I knew not what caused this phenomenon, but I smelled the danger, growing from second to second, heading in our direction.
"Run!" Black tentacles rose into the air, and for a moment that seemed like eternity, I froze. For I knew the owner of those appendages. "The Watcher," I could not help but whispering, feeling the blood drain from my face. The others didn't seem to be moving away fast enough, and I prayed to Eru that my fingers were still flexible enough. My arrow did nothing to stop the beast. It would be nothing but a prickle to him, but a frustrating prickle nonetheless, hopefully aggravating enough for the Watcher's attention not to wander to my friends.
"Run! Do not look back! Run as fast as you can, and whatever happens, do not come back!" No, do not, for if I cannot outrun the beast in time, there will be nothing here for you to find.
The hobbits and Boromir ran, so did Gimli after regaining his feet. But Aragorn stayed back. Stubborn human! You do not know the ways of the watcher. What can your little blade do to his thick hide? Not much more than my arrows can! Save your life my friend while I try to buy you some time!
"You cannot fight the Watcher in his own realm! Run you fool! Run!" can you not see what I am trying to do? Is one life not enough to be had? Do not let fear overpower you my friend. Do not grieve. Yes, you do know what I am doing. And yet, you try to help, to stop me. Can you not understand that the longer you stay, the lesser my chances are? Please run and do not turn back. Do not remember me in my time of weakness.
Another large mass of ice and snow rose into the air and I barely escaped. The situation was turning rather dangerous. Yes, I was keeping the Watcher's attention but it was working too well. But then, the rest of the fellowship was still not far enough. If I ran to join them, the beast would quickly catch up to us again. No. there was only two ways out of this. And one seemed to become less and less possible. Still, Aragorn still not depart. His heart was too noble. And he too stubborn.
"Aragorn! You cannot help! The little ones need you more than I! Run! Run until you reach the tr…" the beast rose fully out of its black domain, hiding my friend from view, its screech drowning my words. I stood my ground, string taut, arrow in the ready at the corner of my lip. –Like daddy taught me- the long forgotten image flashed before my eyes. I waiting until the beast reared its head back, and then released my shot, scoring a perfect aim. Thank you father, my lips quirked up in a quick smile.
Suddenly, the ice under my feet exploded into sharp little pieces, the solid ground disintegrating in a moment. I gasped, cursing myself for my lack of attention. And then swore again as I fell into the icy cold darkness, and the water closed over my head. A scream was wrenched from me, but my lungs instantly flooded with the freezing liquid, and I half-swam half-scrambled back up to the surface, gulping air hectically. Oh Eru, please let me get out of this. Yes, I knew what I was doing by edging the Watcher on. I was vaguely aware of what would happen if I lost the fight. But I never actually imagined it would happen. Curse my elvish pride! I couldn't draw a satisfying enough amount of air into my lungs, and labored for breath, dizzy from the cold, while clinging desperately to the edge of the ice. I do not know how much time has passed since I fell in. I only hopped that the others had time to escape. And that my life will not end here! I was more afraid than I could say.
But I did not have much time to delve into matters of life, death, and the fight for survival. At least not in thoughts. Rather, I was given the chance to experience it first hand, as something snaked around my right ankle, and tugged. My fingers clenched, as I desesperately tried to hang on, knowing that once I let go, there would be no going back. My fingers spasmed. I let go.
I drew one final breath before the water closed over my head, and almost released it at once as the cold squeezed my chest. I kicked with both my feet, but was dragged lower and lower, my cloak, heavy from all the water did not help at all, and I fumbled to release the clasp at my neck, and watched it float upward in the corner of my eye, wishing it was me going up to the light. My eyes stung, and I barely saw the Watcher, a dark shape in a darker world. My lungs screamed for air, and my mind yelled to do something. I could not concentrate. My blades! My blades! I squirmed until I reached into my left boot, unable to feel the handle of my knife with my frozen fingers. I knew it was there! I just couldn't grip it properly. I tugged, and watched with horror as the knife sank into the depths from my nerveless fingers. Sank, just as I. No! No! Dear Eru no! I still had another one! Yes, squeezed to my leg by the watcher's tentacle. I beat at it with my fists, scratched and pulled, until yes! I felt the smooth handle and tugged at it, clutching it so hard my hand hurt, even it this numbing cold. I could not loose this one too.
Fewer and fewer bubbles of air floated to the surface.
No! Knife in hand, I hacked at the tentacle with despair, knowing my movements were slow. Too slow. And then I cut through. For a fraction of a second, I could not believe it. Then I trashed my arms and legs as fast as I could, trying to reach air before I lost consciousness. But it was so dark here, so dark…and so cold…my legs did not want to cooperate, and I floated upward more because all bodies float than because I did anything to propel myself. I could not think. My mind was growing dark…I was so afraid, and at the same time very unaware of what was going on around me. How long had I been underwater? How much longer did I have? Could I…
My head thumped against something hard, and I regained a little control of my mind. Then I wished I had not. For above me, blocking me from reaching air, from reaching life, was a crust of ice, Eru knows how thick. I would have sobbed if I had had enough strength. As it was, I was barely able to bring my arm up and try to scrape at the ice with my knife. But then it too slipped away from my unfeeling fingers, like the first, and I slowly watched it sink, unable to move and catch it, my mind going blank. Where was I? I knew not what direction I had been dragged to. But there has to be more than one hole! I saw them! But where?
To my left, was this not some light? At least a little lighter than this darkness? I was not sure. But my limbs moved on their own accord, and I pushed against the ice, my body nothing more than a floating shape. The circle of light slowly came closer. Or was it I drifting toward it? The ache in my lungs was now distant, as was the stinging feeling in my hands and feet. It was as if I was gradually losing all feeling of my body…I was…
…was this how the poor deer felt?...the one that fell through?
…like me…
…floating….in the cold…
…in the dark…
…toward the light…
I saw the sky. Through glass. Through another layer of ice…
…air…
…please…
…air…
I weakly tapped against it, my hand uncooperating.
A puddle of dark red grew against the sky.
The ice broke; a ragged sharp hole. A jerky move of my foot.
The cold pureness of air in my lungs.
The soothing darkness of unconsciousness in my mind.
~*~*~
A/N~ Hey, he's in the middle of a god-damn freezing lake, unconscious, and bleeding to death. And where the heck is the Watcher? *shudders*
Wow, am I getting evil or what? Sorry, but the more I love someone, the more I love to torment them (err, don't ask =)
Please please review?